Christopher Polk/Getty Images(LOS ANGELES) -- Matthew McConaughey dropped 50 pounds for his role in the upcoming movie Dallas Buyers Club, and he tells Peoplemagazine he called Tom Hanks for some tips.

McConaughey was promoting his new movie in Beverly Hills, Calif., this past Saturday, when he told the magazine, “I actually called Tom and had a great conversation with him about losing weight for Philadelphia and Cast Away,” adding, “And I consulted a nutritionist about the best way to do this.”

According to People, the Magic Mike star weighed 185 pounds when he began losing weight for his role as an HIV-positive man, and thought he’d stop when he slimmed down to 145.

At that point, he tells the magazine, people were going, “Hey, are you feeling all right?...But then I hit 135 pounds. I ran in to somebody and they didn't just ask if I was all right, they said, 'My God, we need to get you some help.' And I thought, 'There we go. That's the perfect spot.’”

McConaughey wasn’t worried about losing all that weight, stressing to People, “I fed myself good food, just not much of it. I found through this journey that the human body is much more resilient than we give it credit for.”

As for stories about lacking energy while he was shooting the film, McConaughey tells People, “I was kind of uncontainable with energy. All the acuity, energy and power I lost from the neck down transferred to the neck up.”